


Lavender

by MayhemWonder



Category: Bakuten Shoot Beyblade, Beyblade
Genre: Awkward Date, Closeted Character, F/F, First Date, M/M, so far in the closet they've reached narnia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:22:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29876274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayhemWonder/pseuds/MayhemWonder
Summary: Written with Wolborgie. Max is gay and back in the closet. Emily is questioning. What could go wrong? Ah yes, being pressured into going on a date together.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Lavender

"Oh fuck."

The swear word that had escaped Emily's mouth was loud enough that a few people in the college cafeteria turned towards her. She gave an apologetic smile and students quickly turned their attention back to their food, pressed to end their meal before their next class.

Sitting next to her, Queen hadn't missed the profanity. "What happened, Emily, did hell freeze over? Have the All Starz finally won a World Title?"

Emily gave a sarcastic laugh. "Haha, very funny. No, look at this."

She handed her phone to Queen and pointed at a text message. "Max Mizuhara-Tate is asking me out."

Queen stared at the screen for a few seconds before offering, "Just tell him no?"

"It's not that simple," Emily explained, "he's my friend!"

Queen took a sip of her water and shrugged. "Yes it is. 'Hey Maxie, I am flattered, but I don't like men. Xoxo, Em."

Emily blushed, "We talked about this! I don't know! Maybe I do?"

Queen raised her hands defensively. "Yes, I know. I need to let you figure things out by yourself."

"I used to have such a crush on him, maybe I still do and distance just made me forget," Emily theorized, more to herself than to her friend.

"Thinking a dude is a good beyblader and has nice shirts isn't a crush, Emily," Queen said flatly.

Emily stared at her phone. Did she want to go on a date with Max? Had she ever crushed on him? She wasn't certain.

For years, she had assumed one day they would be a couple. Everyone had assumed so. Michael. Rick. Her own parents. Judy Tate.

Everyone.

Eventually, Emily herself had started wishing for Max's attention. After all, all good girls get a boyfriend one day, and Max was a sweetheart anyone would be blessed to date.

Then why wasn't she thrilled that he finally asked? Deep down, Emily knew the answer. It had dawned on her during her first few months of college that her disinterest in men was perhaps deeper than simply being "picky." Not that she had a ton of experience to back her theory.

Why was her life never bloody simple. Maybe Max Tate was the answer. Maybe Max was the one in a million that would solve the puzzle.

Under Queen's amused gaze, Emily typed her answer with no hesitation.

"Sounds lovely. How about Friday?"

* * *

Staring at the phone in his hand, all Max had left to do was to hit send. All he had to do was just ask a simple question, but yet he felt as if the task he had to do would somehow jeopardize his entire sense of self. All he had to do was ask Emily out on a date. As much as he didn’t want to he felt as if he had to, not for his sake but for his mother’s.

The previous week he’d made the decision to come out as gay to Judy in hopes of strengthening their bond and to simply have the freedom to express himself without having to feel as if he was keeping secrets. Unfortunately, Judy did not give him the reaction that he wanted. At first, she embraced her son and made promises to love and accept him no matter what, but all the joy went away when she gave him a false reminder of his sexuality only being a phase. Later that day, when Max tried to bring up his sexuality again, he was silenced by his mother telling him that such topics made her uncomfortable.

Max thought that Judy would eventually come around and accept him for who he is, but she was dead set on molding her son into somebody he’s not. A few days after their talk, Judy brought up the idea of Max going on a date with Emily. He was against it as soon as the words left her mouth. But Judy persisted constantly, bringing Max to the point where he ended up saying yes just to shut her up.

Now here he is, contemplating on whether he should send the message or just flat out refuse to do such a thing even for his mother. He hates conflict, especially with someone he loves so much, but something inside of him was telling him to not send the message, to stand up to his mother, and hold his ground.

“What’s the worst that can happen? All she does is talk my ear off, and then she’ll forget about me like she always does.” Max thought out loud. His thumbs were moving faster than his brain, and as he went to delete the message, he ended up sending it.

“Shit!” He yelped, unable to do anything about the situation he got himself into. Out of sheer panic, Max tossed his phone aside and began to frantically look for a distraction.

A few minutes went by until Max’s phone finally rang for a brief moment. Hesitant, he slowly reached for his phone and picked it up. To his surprise, Emily had responded to his request.

“Sounds lovely. How about Friday?"

* * *

_Friday night_

Max had picked a cozy sushi place not too far from the campus. He hadn't offered to pick her up and Emily was grateful. This was already stressful enough.

The more she thought about it, the less convinced she was this was a good idea. Max wasn't... her type. She wasn't certain what her type was yet, but it certainly wasn't Max Tate and his childish blue eyes.

Queen had spent the days leading up to Friday gently mocking her situation. Emily had ignored her. She could talk. Queen had it easy. A few years ago, Queen had fallen head over heels in love with her high school best friend and hadn't looked at a man ever since. For her, figuring out her sexuality had been easy. It wasn't the same for Emily.

Was was attraction even supposed to feel like, anyway? Emily wasn't sure. She had tried to be desirable, to get men's attention, to have boyfriends only to be utterly disappointed by the experience.

Then, during her first semester of college, she had befriended queer people, who had opened her eyes to the fact that perhaps Emily wasn't fishing in the right pond.

Needless to say, there was no way this date wouldn't be a disaster.

Emily was the first to arrive and sat at the small table Max had booked. No matter how this evening went, she intended to enjoy the food.

Max arrived exactly on time, not a minute less. He looked... well, the same as before, except... taller. She wondered where he had picked this gene. Maybe Judy's father had been tall.

"Emily," Max said with a wide smile, "good to see you. You look nice."

"Well thank you Max, you look nice too," she answered.

Max sat down and nervously straightened his shirt. He didn't look comfortable in it. As far as she could remember, Max had never liked dressing up.

They exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes, trying to ignore the awkwardness of the situation. He had never been to this restaurant, but it had been recommended by another Japanese classmate. The tuna was apparently delicious. Emily mentioned that she mostly followed a vegetarian diet, but made exceptions for sushis and the occasional burger. Max fake laughed. She fake laughed. They managed to drag this conversation for a good five minutes.

Finally, Max offered, "Wanna drink something? Wine?"

_I guess alcohol will make this whole ordeal less uncomfortable_ , Emily thought, but she answered a socially appropriate, "I would love to."

Max ordered a wine Emily had never heard of and she approved his choice. She hoped one day she could be one of these people able to appreciate wine.

Emily downed a quarter of her glass as discreetly as she could.

"Shall we order? I won't pretend I know sushi as much as you," she joked.

Max laughed a bit too loudly and attempted to get the waiter's attention. While he was looking away, Emily emptied her glass and poured herself another, hoping Max wouldn't notice.

This was a stupid idea. It felt almost incestuous. Now that he was in front of her, it was clear any interest she might have had for Max in the past had faded away. She hoped his interest in her wasn't serious, because she would be forced to disappoint him.

Once he was done ordering, Max cleared his throat.

"So... my mom told me you're studying physics."

"Yes."

"With a minor in... women studies?"

"My counselor suggested I should diversify my resume," Emily lied.

She doubted Max would believe she found the topic fascinating. Emily had never been a girly girl and she used to scorn these women obsessed over their own gender.

Now, she was one of them.

"How about you Maxie," Emily asked, "What brought you back to the States? Your mom told me you were dating a girl in Japan?"

Max tilted, uncomfortable. Emily frowned. Maybe the breakup was still painful.

"Right. My ex... girlfriend. Hem. Yeah, I was dating in Japan. But it's over. And when I told mom... she suggested I should move back here for a while."

Emily stared at Max in suspicion. Her question seemed to have thrown him off. Of course, he should know Judy Tate would have told her this piece of information. Judy Tate always had a soft spot for Emily, something Emily felt both proud and guilty about. She couldn't imagine what it was for Max, to have your own mom clearly preferring another child.

"How about you Emily, how is dating here? You must be meeting plenty of hot dudes!"

Emily's cheeks started burning. She had never considered the amount of "hot dudes" on campus to be interesting.

"I've been very busy with my studies."

Max nodded. "I see."

A silence fell, and Max attempted to repair his gaffe. "Any... interesting movies you've seen recently?"

The latest movie Emily had seen was a lesbian romance movie, one of the many she had watched wondering if she was moved because of the story or because she could relate to the characters. She chose the next best answer.

"A documentary on Sylvia Plath."

"I like biographies too," Max answered, "recently I've watched this movie about Lady Gaga-"

His cheeks suddenly turned pink, and he corrected himself, "I mean by ex-girlfriend made me watch it... with her. You know. Girl stuff, not that I would watch it on my own, haha."

Emily grinned, but before she could answer, Max noticed something. "Our food is here!"

* * *

  
“Our food is here!” Max said, in hopes of making her forget whatever answer she would give. As the waiter began to set down the variety of dishes onto their table, the pair got distracted in taking whichever plates were theirs and thanking the waiter. 

Afterwards, Max began to quietly eat his sushi, hoping Emily wouldn’t notice the rising heat on his cheeks.

“You okay?” She asked while reaching for her glass.

“Yeah I’m good!” Max responded, trying to force the salmon sashimi down his throat. “Anyway, how’s the food?” He asked in an attempt to alleviate the awkward tension.

“It’s pretty good. I mean, the spicy tuna roll is a bit much for me but other than that I like it.” Emily responded as she took yet another sip of her wine. 

“So,” she started, “about that Lady Gaga movie... I'm actually interested to know more about it.” 

Max let out a nervous chuckle, “Oh _that..._ I mean, like I said, it wasn’t anything too interesting. My ex was more into it than I was.

Emily nodded. She then focused again on her tuna roll, apparently finding the spiciness more tolerable than their discussion.

They ate in complete silence for a few minutes.

Max was... well, he had expected this to be awkward, but this was so much worse. Emily seemed beyond bored. Max was starting to suspect his mother had been wrong. Judy Tate had assured him Emily would be delighted to be asked out, and Max, like an idiot, had believed every word. However, Emily didn't act like a girl dining with her crush. Maybe Emily had accepted his invitation out of politeness. That would explain why she was so guarded. Emily and him had lunched together multiple times before and having a good time had never been this tedious.

Max sighed. He hoped he had not just ruined a friendship to gain his mother's acceptance.

* * *

Max was on his second glass of wine while Emily was on her third. _“Maybe if I don’t say much this’ll be over soon”,_ she thought while taking a sip. Unfortunately for her, Max still seemed determined to make a conversation happen to save this sad excuse of a date.

"So, Emily. What are your plans for the weekend?"

"My friends and I are going to a spoken poetry night. How about you?"

"Oh, I don't know," Max shrugged. "Mom wanted to have dinner, but I'm not sure if I'm up for it."

His smile suddenly turned sad. Emily gave an empathetic look.

He stared at his glass and whispered, "You would think the years would make things better, but not really. Every time we see each other, there is a new thing she wants to change about me."

"She doesn't realize how lucky she is to have you as a son," Emily answered with no hesitation, meaning every word.

Max's lips formed a chagrined line and for a few seconds, there was no date. They were just Max and Emily in a quiet understanding.

"I sure hope so. You know her better than I do, Em."

"So what doesn't she like this time?" Emily attempted, "Your ex girlfriend?"

Max scratched hid head. "Let's just say mom isn't fan of the people I date in genral..."

Max let the rest of his sentence trail of, visibly uncomfortable. Then, he emptied his glass and served himself another.

"Let's finish this and then get the bill, shall we?"

Emily's answer was louder than anticipated. "YES, I mean sure."  
  
Max tried his best to hide the puzzled look on his face upon hearing Emily’s excitement. “Well then, um, just let me know whenever you’re ready and I’ll call the waiter over.” 

Emily smiled and nodded, while internally cursing at herself. " _Blew it”_ she thought. 

She put a theatrical hand on her stomach. “You can just call him over now, I’m feeling pretty full so I’ll just take the rest of my food to-go!” She then raised her glass to finish up her remaining wine. 

Max nodded and called the waiter over. Once the waiter came to their table, Max asked for a to-go box and the check. Emily tried multiple times to convince him to split the bill, but Max was insistent on paying the full thing. Emily ended up giving up on her arguing and decided to let Max pay. 

“Oh well, can’t say no to free food,” she giggled. 

Once the bill had been paid, and the food had been packed, the pair began to gather their belongings and headed for the door. 

“Hey if you’re up for it, I can give you a ride home,” Max proposed, "I'm ok to drive."

“Thanks but don’t worry about it, I’ll just get an Uber,” Emily replied, trying to muster up a genuine smile. 

Emily was well aware of how sweet Max was. He’d always had her back during their beyblade practices, and would be quick to defend her whenever a fellow team member would make a snide comment towards her. There was even a time where Max had told his own mother to leave Emily alone, aware that she had done her best.

So what was stopping her from having romantic feelings for him? Was it because he was her friend, or because he was a guy?

She would have to figure this out.

Emily exited the restaurant, Max following her. Thankfully, her tipsiness dulled her discomfort, but clarified her opinion of Max. This date has been a terrible idea from the start. She wasn't attracted to Max, not even a little. Queen would make so much fun of her.

Emily ordered a Uber on the app and then sighed. The closest one would take ten minutes to arrive.

Ten more minutes.

Max, being the gentleman that he was, made no attempt to leave. Of course he wouldn't leave her alone in a parking lot at night. How considerate.

"Shall we... sit?" Max offered, pointing at the bench facing the parking lot.

"Yeah?" Emily answered, plopping herself on the right side of the bench, hoping Max would stay afar. Unfortunately for her, he sat right next to her, uncomfortably close.

Emily's heart was loud in her chest, and it wasn't from excitement.

"Thanks for the food Maxie, it was nice catching up," she said.

"The wine was good too!"

"Yeah, I wonder if we should have taken the white, I've always heard white wine paired best with fish, but this one was-"

While she was trying to keep this conversation alive, just like in a movie, she saw Max slowly tilting his head and getting his face closer to hers.

_No, no, no, no._

Before he could reach her lips, she blurted, "MAX, I'M A HOMOSEXUAL!"

Max froze. 

Blue eyes stared back at her own green ones.

Then, Max exhaled in relief, "OH MY GOD, ME TOO!"

"WHAT?"

"Yeah, awkward isn't it?" Max said with a chuckle, sitting further away from Emily.

"So your ex..."

"Boyfriend, yeah. And you... _gender studies_! That's why!"

Emily's brows furrowed. "It's for my resume! But you... you invited me?"

"Judy-"

Her tipsy brain made the connection and she screamed, "YOUR MOM TOLD YOU TO ASK ME OUT?"

Max's smile faded. He turned his face towards the parking lot and stared at his hands.

"Judy... I mean mom... she's not thrilled about my _preferences_. She likes you very much, and I think she had always hoped we would be... you know... one day. So I thought if I caved and went on one date with you and then told her it didn't... do anything for me... she would make her peace with it. I'm sorry."

Max avoided her gaze and leaned back on the bench.

Emily nodded, attempting to digest it all. After a few seconds of silence, she conceded, "I suppose I have to apologize too. I haven't been very honest with you either..."

"Yeah... But to be fair, I am relieved you are not interested in me. I wouldn't have known what to do if-"

"Let's just... forget this evening altogether," Emily cut. "We shouldn't ruin our friendship over this."

At this moment, Emily's phone indicated that her Uber was nearby. She rose up and offered, "I'll talk to Judy. Maybe she'll listen to me."

Max gave her a faint smile. "Thanks Emily! You're a true friend."

"Send me this Lady Gaga documentary. It happens to be right up my alley too."

Now, Max's smile stretched back into his typical Colgate grin. "Sure! Hey maybe we can even watch it together!"

"If you don't try to kiss me, sure," Emily joked.

This time, Max emitted a frank laugh and promised, "Never again!"


End file.
